Lagunitas Brewing Company

coldriver

Texas

4.16/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

I'm a big fan of Lagunitas beers so it was a given that my buddy and I would need to visit on our beer pilgrimage to the Russian River area. Pulled up in the parking lot and... CLOSED Monday and Tuesday. Fortunately I was able to come back next weekend by myself although my buddy was already back in Texas.

Large outdoor beer garden with a jazzy sort of band playing. Large crowd on a Sunday afternoon both in and outside. Had a very reasonably priced sampler (believe it was 4 for $5) of beers that I've never had before including bourbon cappucino stout. Service was a little slow but the place was packed so not surprising. Very relaxed and sociable crowd - sometimes it's more fun going to these places alone. Good little gift shop on site as well. Don't understand the need to be closed two days a week but other than that this was a great visit.

08-07-2011 16:16:30 | More by coldriver

slaphappysnark

California

4.1/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Beautiful beer garden with comfy wooden chairs, apparently often with live music. Inside the tap room is small, with more of a bar atmosphere, although with double doors open to the garden on the nice day we were there.
We had a little trouble tracking down service, but she was very polite, helpful and prompt once we were on her radar.
I love that they have a bunch of rotating tap-only offerings, including some barrel-aged goodness, and the $5 taster of any four seems like a great deal, although none of my party took advantage this time.
All of the food we tried was good, although standout for me was the chips and salsa with an avocado half hiding in there, so apparently I am easily pleased without the food's needing much preparation at all.

07-19-2011 04:18:37 | More by slaphappysnark

avaldivia

California

4.4/5  rDev +7.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Lagunitas is where I most often go because, I love this place for the atmosphere. This is a must for anyone who lives near or anyone visiting the Bay Area.

In the Tap Room you'll find all the standard brews like their IPA, Little Sumpin' Sumpin' and so forth but you will also see a few beers that they have some fun with and release specifically for the brewery. I always recommend getting the tasters for $5 so you can try any four and go with ones you can't get elsewhere. Some of their best stuff, unfortunately, you will not find outside of here.

I recommend sitting at the bar where the service is really good, but if you sit outside, be prepared to wait. At times they can be very busy and understaffed so service can slow down. The food is okay, but nothing special. There is music everyday to enjoy; either outside in the summer or inside when it's cold. You should take the tour which is fun and you get a considerable amount of free beer which is always nice.

Overall a really nice laid back place to spend some time. Come here ready to relax.

06-28-2011 07:12:55 | More by avaldivia

cbanker

California

4.26/5  rDev +3.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I stopped by here on the way back from RRBC and was surprised and blown away. I've always liked, but not loved the lagunitas beers I've tried, but I was surpirsed by the amazing environment and great selection of beers.

Nice grounds, great relaxed brewpub environment. I went on a sat afternoon and there was a great folk band rocking out in the pub. I didn't try any food, but what I saw go by looked good. They also use cool mason jar pint glasses. They have pretty cool half gallon mason jar growlers too.

06-24-2011 22:55:05 | More by cbanker

prg1976

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -14.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

Once you're inside, you can't really tell you're in an industrial park. I was inside at the bar, where the vibe was pretty mellow. Lots of people coming and going. Lots of interesting conversations. Heard someone comment that their land lady didn't like "straight weed" but only liked hash.

Beers were fresh, the mason jars serving type is a bit odd, but I guess that's their deal.

Service was good, there were a bunch of guys (and gals) behind the bar. All of them were willing to pour a sample or two.

Selection was pretty standard. I did have a pinot barrel aged stout that was pretty good. The rest was the typical stuff.

Had a panini, it was fine. Nothing special there.

Overall, a nice mellow place to hang out and enjoy some beers. If there was a place like this by my house, I'd be there all the time. Oh, and it's very dog friendly too.

06-20-2011 04:37:58 | More by prg1976

stupac2

California

4/5  rDev -2.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$$

Went here for dinner with my girlfriend and buddy from high school. I had heard good things and was a bit underwhelmed. We got there as some event was wrapping up, which lead to being directed to a parking spot by an interesting old man. That also meant that the nice outdoor garden was 100% occupied, and we sat in the pretty unremarkable bar. The beer selection was what you'd expect from Lagunitas, but they had some interesting extras including a Gueuze (which was actually sold out) and a BA Stout (which was better than its BA rating implies).

The food was okay, but the menu was really, really small. I had expected somewhat more choice. The food was good, but not spectacular, I've had better at smaller-name brewpubs.

All in all it's a good place, but I had high hopes that weren't met.

06-14-2011 02:07:13 | More by stupac2

100floods

California

4.19/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

This is the second time I've been to the brewery, first time to the tasting room.

When you first walk through the gates of the Lagunitas tasting room, you're meet with a relaxed crow of folks in a patio-esq out door area. To the left is stair leading to the brewery and a stage where some local musicians serenade the crowd. I don't know what it is about marin but they sure love their cheesy solo guitar noodling performers. It didn't ruin the ambience, but it always cracks me up. A few steps further and you reach to 'tasting room'. Around the center bar are plenty of seats, although you can sit at the bar, too. The environment inside was bustling. Patrons sit around while the wait staff race around. Because of the restaurant atmosphere I waited to be served, which took a bit. I wanted to just get beer at the bar, but it didn't seem like the place to do that. The menu looked great, but I didn't have room for food. The tap list was exactly what you'd expect: every beer from Lagunitas, and most of their seasonal selections. The one surprise was that they had Geuze, which was pretty amazing. On thursdays @ 4:20 they release a special batch of firkin beer. That seems like a great idea. The beers were reasonably priced, BUT the best band for your buck were the samplers. $4 gets you 4 4oz glasses of their pilsner, IPA, pale ale and one more beer, not bad. For $5 you can get a custom set for 4 beers. (either way you're looking at a pint's worth of beer for 4-5 bucks. that's a steal) I got the Sumpin' Wild, the Geuze, Gnarlywine and the Imp. Stout, which didn't go too good with the other three.
I like Lagunitas, not in love with it, but knowing that I can walk a brief stretch from my girlfriend's place to get some good beer is okay by me.

04-12-2011 23:35:58 | More by 100floods

climax

Kansas

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

Lagunitas is a must stop in wine country for the beer connoisseur, especially the hophead. It's located on the edge of a pretty laid back rural town and that's what makes it something special. We drove from Sac, and it's a gorgeous trek if you get off the interstate early.

Try to make it on a nice day (not too tough to come by in this region), because the courtyard is where it's at. There's live music nearly every day, it started when we arrived at around 3pm on a Sunday. This place seemed busy when we showed up.... that was nothing. It only got busier, a popular spot for sure!

The beers are served in mason jars, which is different. It shoves aside proper beer presentation, which I thought was a statement of how confident they are with their brews. The offerings are typically geared to the lupalin freak, which is awesome. My fiancee likes the lighter sweeter stuff, but she fared alright (she came because I wanted to anyways). They had four IPAs on tap.... yea, four (4)! God bless Lagunitas. Pints were five bucks. Tasters (four 4oz glasses) were seven bucks, not bad.

The food is pretty limited, but don't come here for the food. A half dozen appetizers and panini sandwiches round out the solid diet items. I got a good sized panini for $10, it was decent.

The service is a tough one to rate. Service is going to be slow if you don't venture to the bar yourself (even that is typically packed), that's just the way it is, this is a busy place. But when there's several tables laid out potluck style and no real rhyme or reason to what's going on, you gotta cut 'em some slack. After all, even though the food and beer don't come quickly, the musician on stage isn't taking a break, so enjoy yourself. Everyone is friendly, including the dogs which are welcome, so watch your step.

04-07-2011 02:34:01 | More by climax

plaid75

New York

4.22/5  rDev +2.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Located a bit off the beaten path, in an industrial park in the outskirts of Petaluma.

The location was surprising as I did not expect to find such a place in an industrial park. But what do I know.

Parking was touch despite being there on a Wednesday night. There was live music, and needless to say, the place was packed. A nicely sized outdoor dining and drinking area led into the enclosed bar and restaurant area, which was outfitted like a cross between a hunting lodge and a garage. Great atmosphere.

The bar was rectangular and seated about 30 patrons. There were several pub tables spread around as well.

The draft list featured about 10 house beers, including interesting takes on their classic lineup. Most of what was served was draft only.

Lagunitas is slowly becoming my favorite brewery.

04-06-2011 20:32:46 | More by plaid75

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.56/5  rDev +11.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Totally awesome vibe here. You walk into a really large beer garden, tons of long row tables, they can really entertain a good amount of people. Just as cool as that, there was a band that did about 2 hours of Hank Williams tunes. Lots of Hawaiain shirt guys around, all of them were really cool.

Quality of the beers here are awesome, really enjoyed the wet hop ipa, they do it about as good as anyone. The habanero ipa was crazy, would go up to the edge of too spicy, and then relent just barely. Barrel aged hairy eyeball was pretty good too.

Never had to wait for a beer, they bring you pretzels and peanuts, really was as close to perfect as possible. Prices were just great. Dogs totally welcome, just a really cool unpretentious, friendly place. Stayed about 1-2 hours longer than planned because it was so happening on a warm November Saturday.

Oh yeah, inside there's a wooden bar that makes a square. Only went there to use the restroom.

11-25-2010 03:50:31 | More by Beerandraiderfan